Note, this is not your typical review. I included this book in a article about shared reading with your tween. I don't want to reprint the article here because people might find it out of place. So, here's my blurb for this book.

A relative newcomer, Mark Burley has two books of the “Hit the Ground Running” series already out. Sent away to boarding school in another country, Eric Bakker was drawn to parkour to while away the time. Then his parents went missing and his newfound skills turns out to be the edge he needed to find them.

I enjoyed the first book in this series for its parkour scenes & fast paced action. I DNF'd this book after struggling through several chapters of little action, or action that was just a repeat of all the others - the heroes enter some museum, try to track down some historical info or an expert on the subject, but end up running for their lives when the enemy arrives. I guess you can call that action, but it felt repetitive and similar to all the other fight and run scenes.

There were also too many characters to keep track of. I barely remembered the characters from book one that I read about a year ago. And we got new members on the team too. Forget about new members, I didn't care much for the old ones either.

Maybe someday I'll pick it up and enjoy it again. I hate DNF'ing a book. But it doesn't seem likely.

After reading the first book in this series, Hit the Ground Running, I was really looking forward to reading Flow Like Water. I love the idea of a main character who is a parkour expert. Eric’s abilities didn’t figure into this book as much as they did in the first one, though. The big show-stopper in Flow Like Water is the large-scale operation that Eric and his friends seek to uncover. Along with his brother, Eric travels with snarky twins named Seth and Lakey who have some pretty useful hacking skills. Their one-liners definitely add some pizazz to what would otherwise be more serious moments. I think they were my favorites.

The story has a lot of minor characters which is something I always struggle with in a large cast. It’s hard for me to keep characters straight when there are a lot of peripheral named characters. So that made it a little tricky, but mostly I felt like I kept up with at least the main plot arc of the story.

I feel like there’s a reveal coming about Eric’s brother Michael. Or at least, I feel like something’s weird with him. A few times things would happen and Eric would notice something was off—like his brother could do something he shouldn’t be able to. So Eric would notice and then kind of shrug it off because, you know, bad guys were chasing them, no time for that now! So I wonder if the next book will explore-slash-reveal some new twist about something Michael went through. I’m intrigued by that idea.

On the whole, Flow Like Water was an entertaining read—much more plot driven than character driven, but a fun, suspenseful mystery. I enjoyed it. It would be great for readers who liked I Do Not Trust You by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz.

As with “Hit the Ground Running”, this book is fast-paced and action-packed. Eric – now accompanied by his brother, Michael; the twins, Seth & Lackey; and the immortal, John Williams, as well as Tess – is still trying to locate his parents, by tracking down his parents’ work colleagues, before they go missing (or end up dead) too.
Eric and co.’s investigations take them across Canada, the USA and on into Europe, and include a very quick guided tour (by Eric) of Rome, complete with historical and architectural commentary.
Because a lot of the travelling is done in Seth and Lackey’s large and ponderous RV, the motion does not have the visceral impact that Eric’s free-running had in the first book. The place names change, miles and miles are covered, but you don’t feel the same frenetic feeling of being dragged and flung along at high speed. Actually, Eric only gets one opportunity to show off his Parkour skills here, in a small – but necessary – bit of breaking and entering.
This time, the character performing the physical heroics, is Seth. As I sit reading this book in my own (pretty sedentary) wheelchair, I am blown away by his ability to surmount any obstacle put in his path. Seth is truly differently-abled, rather than dis-abled. However, I did indulge in a tiny bit of Schadenfreude, when I discovered, that even the mighty Seth gets brought low by cobblestones: “the narrow streets around the hotel were wall-to-wall cobblestones. Seth had come to accept the constant jarring, even after the initial wonder of the sights had faded. “Bring it,” (the bus) he’d said. “I can’t feel my teeth anymore anyway.”
While most of the previous book bore a passing relationship to reality, in this book the story goes full Dan Brown (though with much better writing), with the Vatican becoming embroiled in yet another conspiracy/cover up/witch hunt, secret books and symbols, and rampaging mummies.
I did enjoy this book, though not quite as much as “Hit the Ground Running”. It brought the story-line racing along, and all is set up now for a thrilling denouement in the next book – which I will definitely be reading.

When I read reviewed book 1, Hit the Ground Running, I stated that in "some ways it reads like the 39 Clues, and in some ways it reads like Conspiracy 365 by Gabrielle Lord. Or another way to maybe describe it would be a cross between a young Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne and Indiana Jones. And I do not throw out those three names lightly." And this book has that same feel. If anything the action only heightens as book two progresses. This book is a cross up of adventure, action, archaeology, and this volume continues with myths and legends of old. But through in a double plot twist.

The first is a secret at the Vatican. And a long held prisoner kept in a secret chamber for year and years. The other, is a mystery for Tess, about the death of her father. And to be honest the story ends with a double cliff hanger. That is one of the disadvantages of reading advance copies of books. It is that much longer until the next volume comes out. And that was hour I felt when I finished this book, it was almost 2 months until this book would publish and likely 12-14 before the third book in the trilogy would be released. But that being said this was another great read in an excellent series.

Considering this is the second published work by Mark Burley it is incredibly polished. It reads like the work of a much more veteran writer. While reading this book I could not help but think about some of the books I read in my youth, Spencer for Hire, Blackie Ryan Mysteries, and it has that feel of a well versed story teller at home with their craft. And even though this is written with more of a young adult audience in mind these books would be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys a good action mystery story.

In this volume we travel to:
Chicago
London
Rome
Sicily
Lyons
And more.

We also get a glimpse of Eric's internal struggles again. As he tries to balance his quest to find his parents and lead the rag tag team that has assembled around him and his brother. In Chicago they encounter Angel who is the daughter of another missing scientist, and she joins the team, reluctantly and with more than a little friction. Combined with Angel and a book her father had access to the team heads in a new direction and the stakes get higher.

This novel gives us a greater understanding of John Williams, and the people under the mountain. We encounter another of that mysterious race and the surprises just keep coming.

This was a great follow up novel, and leaves readers desperate for the third volume. A high adrenalin rush with lots of action. Well done Mark.

This is book two in the series. We gain some insight into the background story regarding "John Williams" (no not the composer) and the people under the mountain. Seth and Lakey will continue along this journey to help Eric and Michael locate their parents, but along the way a side mystery pops up regarding the death of Tess's father. With Tess leaving the group to look for answers, we are introduced to a new character, Angel, who is also looking for answers surrounding the disappearance of her father, a colleague of Eric and Michael's parents. Now on the run from the Vidi, the journey leads the group back to Canada, then Rome, then Palermo, and closer to some answers. But where is Tess, and did she find what she was looking for? It seems her journey will not only lead to more questions and the cliffhanger at the end is not a surprise. Book three will be a must read.

Flow like Water is the second in an adventure series that is aimed at YA and up.

Eric Bakker is still searching for his parents who disappeared after leaving him with a puzzling voicemail. They were working on a project with a team, whose members are now missing or turning up dead. Working with John, one of the People Under the Mountain, the twins, Tess and his brother Michael, he is about to meet Angel, the daughter of another team member. Together they will follow clues to go on journeys through many different parts of the world while being chased by the Vidi, the immortal Hunters. Time is running out and they will need to adapt in more ways than one. Flow just like water.

I loved the way the book started with a glimpse into Ada’s life under the Mountain, as it gave you a sense of how they lived and the rituals they followed. The moving around from country to country was very interesting, and a lot of work has gone into research about artefacts and architecture which is described in great detail. This has its good and bad moments in that while new information was appreciated, sometimes the sheer overwhelming amount was just too much and you wanted more of the story instead of another description of what they could see. I found myself skimming over parts when that happened. The book also has a focus on Eric’s growth as a person and how he handled relationships with others which contributed well to the interactions with other characters and the decisions he made.

The action felt a little different in this book – more cerebral and less physical. I did enjoy the story, however, and am looking forward to the conclusion and seeing how it will all tie together.

Thanks to Blue Moon Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.

I had loved Hit the Ground Running and was quite excited to read Flow Like Water. The book didn't disappoint me at all, in fact, I think it's even better than the first one. Story just got more complicated, more thrilling, and much more adventurous. Eric, his brother, and his team are all on the quest to look for Eric's parents and other scientists who have gone missing. Some were found dead and it's all related to mysterious group of people who wish to keep themselves hidden from the world. They've managed to do so for many years but it might not be possible any more. But for now, Eric and his friends want to stay safe and find out the truth about everyone who went missing or tuned up dead.
The journey they are on, will take them from Canada to Europe. They will face many foes, find some new friends, and in the end get close to achieving their goal. But maybe there is more at stake than they think. Tess finds out things about her father which made her wonder about the truth. Eric and Micheal are still looking for their parents. Angel is helping them because her own father is now missing. Williams got separated and they don't know where he is and even if he is alive or not. Twins are still helping them but who knows until when. They are all in danger and they need each other to get out of their ordeal alive. But will their team be able to stay together, with all the tension brewing between them or not, is yet to be determined.
The best thing about this book is how it keeps readers on their toes. It had me second guessing everything. The excitement of the chase is quite real and I find it very entertaining. It takes you to different places, as some of the mystery is unravelled, yet there are things that still need to be explained. I hope the next book is just as good as this one, because now my expectation is quite high and I'd be looking forward to reading it.

Eric Bakker, his brother, and his friends continue their quest to find Eric and Michael’s parents. As their quest takes them across the North American continent the stakes get higher, with more scientists missing. In possession of an ancient book and increasingly desperate to find their parents, Eric and Michael pursue leads that take the entire group across the Atlantic. At the same time, they’re fleeing the Vidi, a group of immortals bent of wiping out anyone with the knowledge of the book and its contents.

In Europe, they must use the group’s considerable skills of navigation, research, languages, technology, and parkour to penetrate secrets kept for hundreds of years, or risk losing their parents forever.

Flow Like Water is even more adventure-packed than Hit the Ground Running (though it does contain less parkour). The cracking adventure continues with an appealing and very human cast of young people. The mythology continues, and the story is enhanced by two separate legs of foreign travel—great for armchair travelers like me. Even as some mysteries are resolved, still others are deepened. I can’t wait to see how the series will conclude in the final book.